Naruto Art: Online
by Codename-ShadowFox
Summary: Sword Art Online is the most anticipated game of the year has just dropped, but the players are in for a nasty surprise. Naruto, A solo-player and A beta-tester for SAO is determined to survive in this virtual world, or die trying. Along the way he meets friends new and old, as he works his way to the top of the tower, where his ultimate challenge lies. NaruHina-small Harem.
1. Launch

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto or Sword Art Online.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Madara/Bosses/ Sword Skills**

**_Location_  
**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Naruto Art: Online - I**

'...But SAO was made by the NerveGear inventor, Uchiha Obito and it's a long-awaited VR MMORPG. I can't wait! The beta testers all said it was incredible. I wanted a copy... Only ten thousand copies were made in it;s first printing. It sold out online in seconds. And as you saw, hardcore fans bought all the store copies.' *Click* The sound of the TV was turned off.

"Hn." A blonde haired boy grunted before putting on an odd helmet and hooking it up to his computer, before laying down on his bed. "Link... START!" A flurry of colorful columns suddenly flew at him before systems checks started going off.

A small clock on the HUD saying it was 1 PM.

[Language]... [Japanese]

Log in_::

:Account [NaUzNa]

:Password [******]

Character Creation-

-Beta test data still available. Would you like to use it?-

[Shadowfox]

(YES) (NO)

(YES)

**Welcome to Sword Art Online!**

*****Blink* *Blink*

I look down at my feet. A hand moved into view... my hand? I balled into a fist. "I'm back in this world!" All around him blue lights started turning into people as new players joined the game.

**XXX**

"Heh, time to get a head start." Without a second thought the blonde started racing down the street, ignoring the stalls or the players looking at them. This did however catch the attention of a red-haired man.

"OI! Hold up bro!" He called out as he chased the blonde down an alley.

"Huh?"

The red-haired man put his hands on his knees as he panted a bit. "You move like you've been here before." He said after catching his breath. "You were in the beta test, right?"

"...Yeah."

"Today's my first day. Show me the basics, okay?"

"U-Uh..."

"I'm begging you!" The man said with a bow. "My name's Klein. Nice to meet you!"

Naruto sighed before smirking slightly. "I'm Shadowfox."

"Shadowfox...?"

"Yeah, got a problem with that?"

"N-No! I mean It's a game right, we can call ourselves whatever we want! D...Do you have a real name though?"

"Of course I have a real name, what are you stupid?"

"I mean a name I can call you." Klein said with a sweatdrop.

Naruto thought it over for a second before shrugging. "Naruto."

"... Fishcake?"

"..."

"..."

"I'm leaving." Naruto said with a sharp turn of his heels.

"Wait! Gomen! I didn't mean to insult you! My bad bro!"

"What do you want newbie?"

"W-Well... uh... like I said I'm new so I was hoping you could give me some tips?"

Naruto sighed again. "This is really going to cut into my leveling... eh screw it, I can make it up later. Come one Noob I'll show you the ropes."

"Do you have to call me that? I mean I know I'm new but I do have a name."

"So do I, and you made fun of them both, then asked me to help you so I'm calling you Noob from now on until you can prove yourself otherwise."

"...Fair enough I suppose."

**XXX**

_**Floor 1: Town of Beginnings, West Field (October 31st 2022)**_

"GAH!" Klein cried as he was knocked back by a boar. "Right in the crotch..." He groaned as he rolled around holding himself.

"Yeah it sucks that the game makes you think you feel pain."

"... Gah. Definitely a feature I'm not stoked about." Klein said as he got back up.

"I told you, what's important is your initial motion imput."

"Sure I get that... but he keeps moving around."

"If you do the motion imput right," Naruto picked up a rock, "and activate a sword skill," He held it up and it started glowing a dark red before throwing it at the boar, hitting it in the side. "the system will make sure that the technique connects."

"Motion imput... motion imput..."

"How should I put it?" Naruto dodged as the boar charged at him. "Add a slight pause, and when you feel the skill begin to activate, let it explode." Naruto said as the boar charged him again and he blocked the tusks with the side of his sword.

"Explode?" Klein questioned before a realization struck him and he took a stance with his sword over his right shoulder. Naruto pushed the boar off before kicking it towards Klein.

"RAAAH" Klein shouted before he did a front thrust, hitting the boar dead on, killing it in a shower of blue data shards.

[Result]

[XP - 24]

[Ryu - 30]

[Items - 2]

"All right!" Klein shouted in victory.

"Congrats, you killed a boar. Now you just need to kill about a thousand more during a montage to really get anywhere. They are about as tough as slimes in other games."

"WAH!? Seriously? I thought it was some mid-level boss or something!"

"Heh. Of course not." Naruto said as he pointed at some newly spawned boars. Klein ignored it as he tried out his new sword skill. "Pretty exciting isn't it?"

"Yeah!" Klein said as he did another sword thrust in the air. "There are lots of skills, right? Like blacksmithing and stuff?"

"Yeah. I've heard there are an unlimited number of skills, and there was a rumor during the beta testing that you could create your own if you fit the right requirements. There's no magic though..."

"An RPG without magic? That's a pretty bold decision." Klein said as he kept practicing his forward thrust skill.

"The last day of beta-testing however something weird happened. Some of the players that did things a certain way gained something called a 'Bloodline'. They kinda worked like magic except they used up your fatigue instead of mana." Naruto explained.

"Nice! So... did you ever get one?" Klein asked excitedly.

"Uh... yeah... sort of." Naruto said sheepishly as he tried to avoid the subject.

"So, what did it do?"

"I... well I got mad."

"Huh?"

"You know how warriors in other games use rage or fury as their energy for attacks?"

"Yeah."

"It was kinda like that. My bloodline sent me in a berserk mode where my STR, STAM, and DEF were heavily increased but the longer it was activated the harder it got to turn it off. I guess that was the drawback to it, you become a juggernaut but lose almost all control and start attacking wildly automatically." Naruto answered.

"Hmm... think you could... you know... show me how to get it?"

"Truthfully not even I know how I did it. Like I said we only got the last day of beta to try it out, most people didn't even notice them. I was replacing my chest piece when I noticed a tattoo on my stomach but I payed it no attention. When I tried clearing a boss later that day I got really frustrated because I couldn't beat it and eventually got mad enough to turn it on. I destroyed the boss but almost died from not dodging his attacks. Luckily another bonus of it is that my HP REGEN goes through the roof as long as I'm not under attack. I tested it out some more and learned that the longer it was on, the harder it was to stop... like I was deep in blood lust."

"Dude. Imma be real with you. THAT SOUNDS BADASS!" Klein shouted as the flung his arms around.

"It's more fun to move your own body around instead of an avatar right?" Naruto said with a small smile.

"Hell yeah! Let's get back to work!" Klein said with a large grin.

"Okay, let's head to the next one."

"YOSH!"

**XXX**

Klein was sitting on the grass while Naruto looked at the sunset after a few hours of training.

"I still can't believe it no matter how many times I've seen it. That we're actually in a game. Whoever made it is a genius. It's really amazing... seriously, I'm glad I was born in this time."

"You made a big deal out of everything." Naruto said with a slight chuckle.

"It's my first full dive!"

"Then this is your first playing a game with a NerveGear?"

"I rushed out and bought the hardware to play SAO. I was really lucky to get one of the ten-thousand copies. Well, you were ten times as lucky, getting into the beta test. Only a thousand people got to do it."

"I guess so." Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head.

"How far did you get in the beta?"

"Over a couple of months, only to Floor 8. This time, it'll only take a month." Naruto said with a smile on his face, as he looked over at the setting sun.

Klein got a sly grin on his face as he said. "You're really into this."

Naruto unsheathed his sword that had a fox tail as a tassel on the end. "To be honest, during the beta test, SAO was all I thought about night, and day. In this world, a single blade can take you anywhere you want to go. It's a virtual world, but I still feel more alive here than I do in the real one. Heh. Want to go hunt some more?" Naruto said as he sheathed his blade.

"Of course! I'd love to, but I'm really hungry... I'm logging out. Eating food here only makes you think you're not hungry."

Klein grinned and he flashed a thumbs up. "I already ordered a pizza to be delivered at 5:30"

"Heh. You're so prepared."

"YUP! Well, once I've eaten I'll be back."

"I see." Naruto said as he turned back towards the sunset.

"After this, I'm meeting with some people I know from another game. Want to friend them too?" Klein asked as he stood up.

"Eh... uh." Naruto grunted before looking down.

"Of course, if you don't want to that's ok! I'll introduce you another time." Klein said with a disarming smile.

"Yeah, some other time..."

"Listen Naruto, thank's for all the help. I'll repay you for this sometime..." Klein placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Mentally."

"Heh." Naruto chuckled.

"Thanks so much, man." Klein said as he put out his hand. "I'll see you around"

"If there's anything else you want to know, just ask me." Naruto said as he took his hand.

"Yeah, I'll definitely do that!" Klein said before opening up the game menu. "Huh? There's no button to log out."

"Look closer."

Klein checked over all the options again. "No, it's not here."

"At the bottom of the main menu... huh?"

"See? Not there."

"No, it Isn't."

"Well, It's the first day out of beta. There are bound to be some bugs. I'm sure the server people are freaking out..."

"In a second, you will be too." Naruto said as he pointed at his clock. "It's 5:25"

"MY PIZZA!"

"Just hurry and call the game master."

"I tried, but nothing's happening. Is there any other way to log out?"

"No, if a player wants to log themselves out, they have to go through the menu. That's nuts! There's gotta be another way. Return! Log out! Escape! Alt-F4!" Nothing happened.

"I told you... there wasn't an emergency logout in the manual either."

"You're kidding, right? I know! I'll just rip the NerveGear off my head." Klein said as he tried to push an invisible object off his head.

"You can't. We can't move our real bodies The NerveGear intercepts anything we tell our bodies to do" Naruto pointed to a spot on his neck. "Here."

"Seriously? So we have to wait for them to fix the bug?"

"Or for someone in the real world to remove the NerveGear from us."

"But I live alone. What about you?"

"Same... this logout bug poses a serious threat for the future of the game."

"Yeah, I think you're right."

"If they wanted to they could just shut down the server and log everyone out, But there isn't even an announcement..."

"Hmm..."

Both turned back towards the city as a loud bell started ringing. Suddenly they were teleported into the starter city.

"A forced teleport?" Naruto thought out loud as he saw people showing up all over the place.

A blinking red sign was up in the sky before it multiplied, surrounding the skybox. Soon afterwards the sky started bleeding and forming into a large hooded shape.

"**Attention, players**." The large form said. "**Welcome to my world.**"

"'My world'?" Naruto asked under his breath.

"**My name is Uchiha Obito, but you may call me Madara. As on this moment, I am the sole person who can control this world." Murmurs spread throughout the players. "I'm sure you've noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat... this is not a defect in the game. It is a feature of Sword Art Online.**"

"A-A feature?" Klein stuttered out.

"**You cannot log out of SAO yourselves. And no one on the outside can shut down on remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside of the NerveGear will emit a powerful microwave, destroying your brain."**

A few people tried to walk out of the city square to leave, only to find the way blocked by an invisible barrier."**Unfortunately, several player's friends and families have ignored this warning and have attempted to remove them and as a result, two hundred and thirteen players are dead. As well, if your health drops below zero and you die in SAO... you die in real life as well. Now hopefully this doesn't discourage you from playing the game, instead it should urge you to complete it faster.**

**There are only two means of escape. One is to complete the game, and reach the hundredth level of the dungeon then defeat the final boss, freeing everyone. Two... is more self-centered. Like other games, SAO has PvP but seeing that if your health drops below zero you die, then PKs or Player Killers are born. If one player manages to get their red number to one-hundred they will be released from the game... but as in all games, killing players will have consequences. Oh and I have one present for you all, if you look in your inventories**." Every player quickly checked their backpacks, only to find mirrors that quickly changed their avatars to look like their real selves.

"N-Naruto are you alright?"

"Yeah." Naruto said to the sound of Klein's voice before turning around to a different face. "Who are you?"

"And who are you?"

All around them, girls were turning into guys, buff guys were turning into fat guys, then they looked at each other.

"You're Klein?"

"You're Naruto? How? And.. you actually didn't change all that much."

"Unlike most of these guys I actually looked somewhat similar to my avatar. Blonde hair, blue eyes, lost my whisker tatts though... that's a shame. You didn't change a lot either."

"Yeah I kinda just had the hair longer. Anyway how did this happen?"

"The scan. It probably copied our face but our bodies..."

"When I first turned it on I had to calibrate my body by tapping myself all over to registered my height and size."

"Oh... right. I forgot about that."

"But... but why? Why do all this?"

Naruto pointed at the large looming figure. "I'm sure he'll tell us."

"**You may be asking yourselves why? Why would Obito Uchiha, creator of SAO do all of this? Well my goal has already been finished. To create this world and intervene in it."**

"Uchiha..." Naruto growled out.

"**And now, it is complete**. **This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. Good luck, players." **The large figure disappeared and the stunned faces of all the players now stayed silent. Then. Chaos.

Everyone did their best to try to escape the city, desperate opportunist players who already knew how to fight waited outside of the city gates, killing people as they flooded out. One of these victims was a pink-haired girl with an obscenely large forehead.

"Come with me Klein." Naruto whispered, as he pulled him into an alley. "Listen to me. I'm heading to the next village now. Come with me." Naruto said with conviction.

"Huh?"

"If what he said is true, the only way to survive is by making yourself as strong as possible. The resources are within a VR MMORPG, in other words the XP and money we can earn are limited. The fields surrounding the Town of Beginnings will soon be hunted clean. To do this efficiently we should head to the next village now. I know all the paths and dangerous areas. Even at level 1, I could still get us there safely."

"But... But you know... I spent a whole night in line to buy this game with my friends from the other game. They're out there in the plaza. I can't leave them." Klein said with a sad look.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he looked down. _If it were just Klein... but more...?_

"Sorry." Klein's voice said, pulling him out of his thoughts. "I can hardly ask you for anything else, can I? So don't worry about it. Go to the next village. I used to run a guild in my last game, I can use what you taught me to get by!"

Naruto just stared at him for a moment before nodding. "All right."

"Then let's say goodbye here."

Naruto nodded once again. "If something happens, send me a message."

"Will do."

"Take care of yourself Klein." Naruto said as he waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked away.

"Don't get yourself killed out there, Naruto. If you need anything send me a message." Klein called out to Naruto's retreating form. The two went their separate ways.

**XXX**

Naruto was in a dead sprint, and ran out of a hidden exit to avoid any hidden PKs. His destination was far away, and getting there could mean death, but it's the only way. A wolf appeared spawned in front of him, he never once broke stride.

_I'm... I'm going to survive _With one swift motion, he cleaved the wolf in half. _In this world!_

* * *

**_~Shadowfox_**


	2. Executioner

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto or Sword Art: Online.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Madara/Bosses / Sword Skills**

**_Location_  
**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Naruto Art: Online - II**

_**December 2nd, 2022**_

_A month has passed since the game began. During that time, two thousand people have died. However, no one has yet been able to clear the first floor. I was a beta-tester and even I haven't found the boss room yet. And today, they're holding a meeting on how to defeat the first floor boss. _Naruto thought as he walked to the meeting point. A blue haired man was standing up front.

"Okay, let's get started people! Thank you for coming today! My name is Diable, and I like to consider my class as Knight!" Diabel said with a smile.

Light laughter was heard all around.

"There's no class system in this game!"

"A Knight?"

"You should take this more seriously! Is this meeting a joke too?"

Diable suddenly got serious. "Today, our party found the boss room at the top of the tower." This got everyone attention. "We need to defeat the boss, reach the second floor, and tell everyone waiting in the Town of Beginnings that it is possible to beat this game. Everyone present here shares this duty! Do you all agree?" Uncertain looks were passed around among the crowd before a slow clapping started, that quickly grew into a loud applause. Naruto smiled slightly before he pulled the hood over his eyes further and rested his claymore against the rock steps. "OK! Then let us begin our planning. First, divide into parties of six." Players quickly picked their groups while Naruto leaned in further into his seat. "An ordinary party has no chance against a floor boss. We need to form a raid group using multiple parties."

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly before turning to his left and seeing someone in a reddish-brown cloak that looked like his black one. He slowly stood up and walked over to the player. "So you got left out?"

"I didn't get left out. I just stayed out of it because everyone seemed to know each other already." A feminine voice replied.

Naruto has a slight smirk as he looked down at the cloaked girl. "So you're a solo player also? Might as well team up, so we can join the raid." They girl turned her head towards him before nodding. Naruto scrolled through his menu before sending her a party invite. Naruto looked at the player's healthbar, 'Asuna' it read.

"Okay, have you formed your parties?" Diabel asked. "Then-" He was about to speak again before being interrupted by an orange haired man.

"Wait a minute!" The man called out from the top of the stadium before jumping down. "My name's Kibaou. I wanna say something before we take on the boss. Some of you here need to apologize to the two thousand that have died so far." He proclaimed before pointing an accusing finger at the crowd.

"Kibaou-san are you referring to the beta testers?" The blue haired man asked.

"Of course I am! On the day this stupid game started, the beta guys ditched us beginners, and they all disappeared. They took all the good hunting spots and easy quests for themselves, so only they could get stronger. And then, they just ignored the rest of us. I'm sure someone here was in the beta! They should get on their knees and apologize, and give up all the items and money they've hoarded. Otherwise we can't trust them!" Naruto just narrowed his unseen eyes under the shadow of his cloak but did nothing else.

"May I speak?" A large dark-skinned man asked as he stood up and joined the two men on the stage. "My name is Agil. Kibaou-san, tell me if I have this right. You're saying that because the beta testers didn't take care of them, many beginners died. That they should take responsibility, apologize, and offer compensation. Correct?"

"Y-Yeah."

Agil reached into his back pocket and pulled out a brown book. "You got this guide-book, didn't you? It was provided for free at the item store."

"Sure, I did... why?"

"It was compiled from information given by the beta testers." This got surprised whispers from the crowd. "Listen. Everyone had equal access to this information. And even still, many players died. I thought the topic of discussion here was what we could learn from their deaths, and how that can help us defeat the boss." Agil then turned to Kibaou who turned away and went to go sit down, follow by Agil.

"All right! Then, can we resume?" Diable started before pulling out his own guide-book. "The latest edition of that guide-book was just issued, and it has information of the boss. According to it, the boss's name is Illfang the Kobold Lord. He is guarded by assistants known as Ruin Kobold Sentinels. He is armed with an axe and a buckler. He has four health bars, and when the last one enters the red, he enrages and switches to a curved sword-type weapon called a Talwar. His attack pattern changes to a berserker style, as well." Diabel briefed the crowd which were whispering among themselves. "This concludes the briefing. Lastly, loot will be automatically distributed. XP goes to the party that defeats the monster. And whoever receives an item keeps it. Any objections? Alright then, we leave tomorrow morning at ten. See you there!" Diabel said dismissing them.

**Later that night**

Asuna was sitting alone in a bench eating a stale piece of bread. When she suddenly heard a voice behind her. "Tastes like crap, doesn't it?" Slightly startled she turned around to see the equally hooded person she partied with earlier that day. "May I sit down?"

Asuna said nothing but made no motion to stop Naruto from taking a seat next to her. "You know, I've eaten at least one of these damned pieces of virtual bread daily, ever since arriving in this town. I change it up from time to time but the real trick is to make it not taste like a rock."

"How do you do that?" Asuna asked in a quiet voice.

Naruto pulled out an almost empty glass jar with some red stuff at the bottom. "Put some on the bread." Naruto said as he placed the jar on the bench.

Asuna hesitantly reached for it before her fingers turned blue from using a charge or the item and spreading it on the bread. "Wh-What is this?"

Naruto chuckled for a moment before using up the last charge on his own bread, making the jar disappear. "It's strawberry jam."

Asuna's eyes lit up for a moment before taking a single bite, then pausing. After a moment she quickly devoured the bread and sighed in contentment.

"Good isn't it? My cooking skill is terrible but one day I found the recipe for the Jar of Jam and I had to use it. Best decision I've made yet. You can actually make whatever kind of jam you want by switching the berry... I just personally prefer strawberry." Naruto said as he tore his bread in half. "Want some more?" He asked, offering her the other piece.

"But... don't you need that, to keep your food bar up?" Asuna asked.

"Nah don't worry about that, I got a bowl of ramen in my inventory that I was saving for later."

"Why are you so laid back?"

"Why not be? This damn game is stressful enough as it is, might as well enjoy the peace when you can."

"I'd rather stay myself until the end than sit and rot away at an inn, back in the first town. Even if I get killed by a monster, I don't want to lose to this game... to this world. No matter what."

Naruto just finished the last piece of his bread before speaking again. "I wouldn't want a party member dying on me... so at the least, don't die tomorrow." Naruto said before standing up and heading towards the inn he was staying at.

**Next day. **

_**Floor 1: Forest Field (December 3rd)**_

"So that's the plan. We're supposed to take out the adds while the main parties focus on the boss."

"I know."

"I'll use a sword skill to knock their pole-axes up. The second I do, switch in."

"Switch?"

"Is this your first time in a party?"

"Hai."

"Hmm. When I yell switch just run in and stab them. Sound good?"

Asuna nodded.

The raid group fought their way through the dungeon before finding the Boss's door. Diabel the raid leader stood in front of the door. "Listen up, everyone. I have only one thing to say. Let's win!" He turned to the door. "Let's go!" With a push, the large doors opened up.

The raid slowly made their way inside of the room before it suddenly lit up and a massive red kobold jumped through the air towards them.

"Commence the attack!" Diabel ordered.

The raid and the monsters rushed at each other to meet in battle. The battle raged on, while Diabel was shouting out orders. "Here it comes! Squad B, Block!"

Kibaou and Agil used their sword skills to block the Boss's attack.

"Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch... now!" A group of players rushed forward to hit the boss."Squad F, keep the adds off of us!"

Naruto shot forward and parried one of the kobold assistant's downward swing, dealing a good amount of damage. "Switch!" Asuna ran straight for the falling enemy impaling it. _I thought she was a beginner, but she's incredible. She's so fast, I can't even follow her blade. _

Naruto knocked back another kobold sentinel before watching the boss, seeing that It's last health bar was in the red now, and it threw away It's axe and buckler which started It's enrage stage.

"Look's like the information was correct." Kibaou said smugly.

"Stand back!" Diabel called out "I'll go!"

_We were supposed to surround it with the entire group... _Diabel looked over at Naruto who noticed the faint smirk on his lips. _Bastard! He's going for the last hit bonus!_

Just then the boss equiped It's secondary weapon. _That isn't a talwar! It's a nodachi! It's not the same as the beta test! _Naruto thought as he fought off another Kobold. "KUSO!"

Illfang suddenly jumped up to the ceiling before jumping off the pillars in the room before finally dropping to the floor, landing a massive hit on Diabel, then knocking in him the air before inflicting another brutal hit to his back.

"Diabel!" Kibaou shouted before the boss landed behind him and roared in his face.

Naruto ran over to the downed raid leader who was loosing health fast. "What the fuck were you thinking?" He demanded.

Diabel looked over at him. "You knew what I was going to do didn't you? You were a beta tester weren't you?"

Naruto nodded before he turned back towards the raid, which had taken a turn for the worse. "Please..." At the sound of the weak voice, Naruto turned back around towards Diabel. "Please... defeat the boss. For..." He started turning blue. "Everyone..." Diabel shattered into blue data remnants, signifying his death.

Naruto stood up and gripped his claymore, with the fox tail tassel at the end. "I'll go too." Asuna said as she appeared beside him.

"Thanks" Was all Naruto said before he and Asuna sprinted straight for the boss. "We'll do it like the sentinels."

"Got it."

The raid members were starting to retreat from Illfang, in fear of their life. The boss then noticed the two players rushing towards him, and ready a sword attack.

"Raaaahhh!" Naruto shouted as he charged his own attack, and used it to parry Illfang's attack, making it recoil. "Switch!"

Asuna spared no time and rushed forward, rapier at the ready and glowing with her charged short attack.

"ASUNA!" Naruto shouted at the last moment making her duck down, to avoid the swing that would have cleaved her in half, but instead just tore through her cloak revealing a blonde haired woman with auburn eyes.

Asuna recharged her sword attack, making her sword glow a bright violet before swinging, catching the boss in the side.

"He's coming back!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran forward to block Illfang's attacks, while Asuna hit him. Illfang then twisted his wrist in midswing making Naruto's eyes grow wide before he received a large gash across his chest. "GAH!" He shouted in pain as he went flying into Asuna, knocking them both to the ground.

Naruto's health was now at 51% and he was struggling to get up. The boss raised It's weapon to cut straight through both Naruto and Asuna, the former of which tried to put up a defense, but was instead saved by a green wave. Agil used a sword skill to knock back Illfang, before taking a defensive stand in front of Asuna and a downed Naruto.

"We'll hold him off till you recover!" Agil proclaimed as he and a group of players rushed the boss before behind knocked back. Illfang took his opportunity to jump into the air, preparing a sword attack.

"Watch out!" Naruto shouted as he quickly got to his feet, seeing Illfang's planned attack. He charged his own and hit the boss first, throwing it to the other side of the room. "Asuna, one last hit! We'll do it together!"

"Roger!"

Illfang was picking himself out of the crater that formed on the ground, and his form was visible through the dust cloud. The two ran straight for the boss, Naruto's first hit knocked the sword out of Illfang's hand, Asuna struck next with a few quick stabs from her rapier before Naruto jumped high into the air.

Naruto twisted in mid-air, adding extra force behind his attack. "Death to the Lord!** EXECUTE**!" With one clean sweep Naruto tore right through Illfang's neck, severing his head with an execution crit.

The room glowed an eerie blue before Illfang shattered into a mess of data remnants. The battle had been won.

"W-WE DID IT!" A random player shouted before a large Congratulation sign showed up in the air. The entire raid was celebrating and cheering, while Naruto was knelt examining something.

His eyes went wide. _I didn't think it would actually work... _There in his inventory was the legendary one-of-a-kind hidden blade Kubikiribocho, along with five notices.

[World first Boss Kill] Shadowfox - Dec 3, 2022

[World first Boss Execution] Shadowfox - Dec 3, 2022

[All conditions met for: Kubikiribocho]

[The Bloody Mist: Kubikiribocho - Set 1/7] Shadowfox - Dec 3, 2022

[Congratulations = You got the last attack bonus!]

[*Bonus Item*]

Black Flame Coat

"Good work." Asuna said as she walked up behind him.

"That was splendid swordsmandship." Agil added. "Congratulations. This victory belongs to you."

Naruto just remained quiet as he stood up while the raid cheered.

"YOU KNEW!" A voice shouted making the room go silent. "You knew all along didn't you?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow but said nothing in return.

"You knew how the boss attacked, how and when to counter, and exactly what to do to finish it off!" Kibaou shouted.

"He must be a beta tester!" A random player stated. "That's the only way he could have known! HE knew all along and didn't tell us! I bet there's other beta testers here as well!" He shouted making people looked around at each other.

Naruto turned back around and opened up his inventory. "Hey, come on..." Agil started before a slow laughter filled the room.

"A beta tester? I wish you wouldn't compare me to those newbies."

"W-What?"

"Most of the thousand beta testers were beginners who didn't even know how to level up. You guys are better than they are... but I'm not like them. I made it higher than anyone else during the beta test. The reason I knew the boss's skills is because I fought monsters with katana skills on floors far above us... and I know a lot more. Way more than any information broker." Naruto said darkly.

"W-What? Th-That's worse than a beta tester... you're a cheater! A Beater!" Kibaou stated and the crowd agreed with him.

Naruto smirked when he heard one of the words. "A beater... Hmm... I like it, but it doesn't really describe me very well... no I think I'd like something more personalized." Naruto said as he scrolled through his inventory, equipping the Black Flame Coat which was blood red with black flames licking the bottom and the kubikiribocho strapped on his back. "From now on don't confuse me with the other testers." He smirked again, taking his blade in one hand before resting it on his shoulder. "I am Shadowfox, The Executioner." Naruto said as he walked up the steps to the next level, while attacking his trademark foxtail from his claymore to the Executioner Blade.

He was almost at the top of the staircase when a voice asked him to stop. "You called my name when we were fighting."

"Sorry for using your first name... or did I mess up the pronunciation?"

"Where did you learn it?"

"You can see another HP gauge below yours," Naruto pointed above his head. "around here, right? Isn't something written next to it?"

"Shadowfox... Shadowfox? Is that your name?"

"Hai."

Asuna giggled lightly. "Oh, It's been there all this time! But... If you don't mind me asking, what is your real name?"

"Naruto." Asuna smiled at his answer. "You'll be really strong. So if someone you trust ever invites you to join a guild, don't turn them down. There's a big limit to what you can do as a solo player." He said before stopping in front of the door to the next floor.

"Then what about you?" Asuna asked.

Naruto just scrolled through his options before disbanding the party and silently walking into the second floor.

* * *

**_~Shadowfox_**


	3. Ravenwood

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto, or Sword Art Online. (Or any skills/abilities/items/spells/names from any other show/game that I happen to rip-off.)

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Madara/Bosses / Sword Skills**

**_Location_  
**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Naruto Art: Online - III**

_**February 8th, 2023**_

**_Floor 16: Ravenwood_**

Naruto glanced down at a checklist he made. "Alright... and that makes twenty." He said as he hacked off the left ear of a moss troll. "Hopefully they didn't give me a disease... it would suck to go find a healer this far away from any cities." He just shrugged and went off to complete his quest.

He stuck to the trees as these darkly lit zones are hunting grounds for player killers. He was almost to the town when he heard the sounds of voices, and weapons clashing. _It's probably a bad idea but screw it... might as well go see what's up._

He made his way closer to the noises and his eyes widened at the sight. It was Agil, one of the people he met from the raid group on the first level of the tower. It looks like he was trying to hold his own against three members from Bloodshot a PK guild, and wasn't doing to great. _Well dammit..._

Naruto pulled Kubikiribocho off his back and activated one of his newly acquired sword skills "**Demon Leap!**" He soared through the air and pointed his two-handed straight down and hit the ground directly in front of the PKs hard, burying his blade a foot deep and causing shockwave that sent the three PKs back a few feet. "You alright Agil?"

"Wh- Shadowfox?" Agil said in disbelief as he looked that the person that just saved him.

"Yeah. What are you doing here? You're nowhere near this level." Naruto said as he pulled his zanbatou out of the dirt.

"I heard some rumors about a special metal that could be found here that adds an elemental enhancement to any blade it's crafted into." Agil said as he stood up and got into a fighting stance.

"A rumor probably made by these guys to lure players out here. A common trap in dark zones like these." Naruto said as he fell into an aggressive fighting stance.

"Hehe, here that guys? Looks like he's figured our little scam out... unfortunately for you, we can't let you leave now. It's your death for our freedom, be chums and just die for us, yeah?" The leader of the bloodshot said.

"Give up huh? I would if I could but I can't so tough luck." Naruto said with a smirk before using a sword skill that boosted his speed dramatically for a few seconds, and slammed his shoulder into the leader sending him flying into a tree. He used his momentum to swing Kubikiribocho in a wide arc and called out his next sword skill. "**Cleave!**"

The attack did massive damage to the two other bloodshot members who were too stunned to dodge the attack that now left their HP in the red. Naruto jumped back and rejoined Agil before taking a knee as he rested.

"Shadowfox-san are you ok" Agil asked in concern.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, I just used up a lot of fatigue with that combo and got hit with exhaustion. Just give me a few seconds and the debuff will tick-off." Naruto said through huffs.

The leader of the bloodshot groaned as he picked himself out of the tree. "Bastard! You'll pay for that!" He growled before turned to his two underlings to were withering on the floor, dying from the a bleed debuff. "Looks like you two have outlived your usefulness." He said making the two go wide-eyed at their leader's words. Without even blinking he stabbed his twin reverse daggers into each of them, killing them both. He grinned as the 23 next to his name became a 34.

"Dun dun dun! What a twist! The murderer killed his own subordinates! Was this written my M.N.S? Will there be a crappy sequel?" Naruto said sarcastically.

"The fuck are you talking about? No I did it because when all three of us reached fifty kills I had planned to kill both of them in their sleep anyway to instantly gain my hundred. I bet you didn't know this but each red number represents a kill, and PKs who are killed get half of their kills transferred to the killer, so if they each had fifty I would have gained twenty-five from them both and won my freedom. My number rose from 23 to 34 because grunt number one had 12 and grunt number two had 10." The bloodshot leader said with a sadistic grin.

Naruto chuckled from a moment in thought. "You weren't in the beta were you?"

"No, what does that matter?"

"You see... there was an achievement in the beta. It was called man-slayer, essentially you had to PK 100 people in a row without dying, but each kill reduced your fighting potential. You'll notice that you move slower, have less fatigue points, your gear degrades faster, and your skills slowly decline as the hidden 'Outlaw' debuff affects you. No one in the beta ever made it to a hundred because around fifty you gain a second debuff called 'Paranoia' that one increases your vision at night and your senses but at the same time they're hypersensitive so you will hear every little noise, every tiny sound, and you slowly start to lose your mind as you eventually think that everything is coming to kill you and take your kill count. I could already tell it was affecting all of you to some degree just by how slowly you moved and how long it took you to recover from that last hit. I could kill you, but that would be more of a hindrance that a benefit to me... so I think I'll just leave you in the red and let the wolves decide your fate." Naruto said before running up to him, ducking under his dagger swings and cutting him across the chest with a knife he kept hidden in his coat, then stabbing him between the ribs before kicking him away.

"Gah." The leader grunted as he felt the bleed debuff start to tick away at his health, which just went from yellow to red. "Dammit." He got up and ran at Naruto, doing his best to ignore the pain in his side long enough to kill him.

"I swear to Kami if you die from bleeding and I get your debuff I am so going to piss on your grave when I get out of here." Naruto said as he dodged the weak lunge from the bloodshot member and pushed him into the woods before giving a loud whistle. "Wolfies, din-din!" Naruto shouted, and immediately afterwards heard loud growling.

"Sucks to be that guy." Agil mentioned before screams and ripping sounds were heard.

"Yeah well better him than us, and I wasn't risking taking his kill count." Naruto said before turning to Agil. "Let's get back to town... I think I've seen enough of this forest for today."

"Yeah... that sounds good." Agil said as they started down the road. "Hey... I need to ask though, what exactly are you doing here? Aren't you like level 25 now?"

"Yeah but some guy paid be a nice amount of ryo to get him some moss troll ears for some potions he's making, and promised to give me a few if they worked. It was a win-win so I did it, and lucky you that I did."

"Tch. You're telling me. I had my life flashing before my eyes back there." Agil said before turning to the shorter man. "Thank's again Shadowfox, you saved my ass back there... if you need anything just ask."

"Call me Naruto... and now that you mention it, I find myself in need of a good blacksmith." Naruto said as he turned to Agil.

Agil grinned and nodded. "I'm not a very high-level blacksmith but I'm better than most. Get me the metal and materials to boost my levels and I'll make whatever you need."

"Well we might be at it a while..."

"Why's that?"

"I found a design for a unique weapon off of the 20th floor boss. You remember what happened back in floor one where I used Execute right?"

"Yeah, you got that bad-ass two-hander."

"Yeah... well this bad-ass two-hander is part of a set. One of seven."

Agil looked shocked for a moment. "Really?"

"Yeah and I found the design for the next one. It says that 300 Blacksmithing is needed along with 170 Splash-Steel bars and 100 Exploding notes, and the description is just 'Splash' whatever the hell that means." Naruto told him.

"How are we supposed to get those?"

"My informants told me that splash-steel is made by combining 'Essence of Water' and regular steel.. as for the notes... uh... apparently you have to pull them off the backs of rare squirrels that explode if they see you. Sounds like fun, no?" Naruto said with a fake smile.

"Oh no doubt... unfortunately for me though, I'll be too busy slaving over a hot furnace to help you out with that one. I'm sure you'll be fine and only suffer first-degree burns, second-degree tops." Agil reassured him.

"Gee thanks, I'm so relieved now. Anyway since you'll pretty much be mass producing weapons for a while, how are we splitting the profits?" Naruto asked as they finally neared the small village in the middle of Ravenwood.

"Well since you will be providing all the materials while also power-leveling me for your own benefit, I'd say 50/50?"

Naruto almost face-faulted. "Bullshit! I say 80 for me 20 for you."

"60/40"

"75/25"

"Fine 70/30" Agil relented.

"Good enough. Let's crash at the inn here in town and tomorrow we can plan out how to go about this."

"Sounds good. Oh and I still want to check out this floor's dungeon, I heard that there's some crystals you can harvest in there that can be socketed into your weapons." Agil said as they walked into the inn.

"Spiky blue things, sticking out of the walls?" Naruto asked.

"That matches the description." Agil said with a nod.

"Yeah I saw a few when I cleared this floor. I just thought they were part of the environment so I didn't pay attention to them." Naruto said as he paid the NPC for a room and so did Agil.

"So what about the other ones?"

"Huh?"

"You said there was seven right?"

"Oh right. My informants tell me that there's already two others in the game. A guy called Kisame has Samehada and apparently Ringo has the Kiba twin-blades... didn't know that one of the Kouchuu's played this game. Hell I didn't even know they were still alive, he must be like 90 now." Naruto said with a shrug.

Agil sweapdropped. "I'm pretty sure that's not the same Ringo."

"Meh. Anyway get some sleep, I'll see you in the morning." Naruto said as he turned and waved over his shoulder.

"Yeah."

**0-0-0-0-0**

**_Meanwhile - Floor 15: Rivershire Inn_**

Nine figures were sitting around a table talking.

"I still can't believe that you guys are stuck here too."

"Yes, It's good to see some familiar faces but terrible that you're all also stuck here."

"Regardless... It's nice to see you again cousin."

"I'm glad that you're well, Hinata. Shino, Kiba, thank you for looking after her."

"Hey, what are friends for!" Kiba said with a grin.

"It was only logical that we should stay together to increase our chances of survival." Shino added.

"I'm glad that we're only increased survival rates for you Shino, you dick." Kiba grumbled as he shot the speckled boy a glare.

"I did not mean it that way."

"Kiba leave Shino alone, you know he didn't mean it that way. It's not his fault he said it in a way that made us seem like we were more of insurance than friends..." Hinata said with a sweet smile. After many life-threatening battles she quickly grew out of her shyness and grew a bit more cynical.

"Oh come on guys, leave the poor guy alone." Tenten said from her side beside Neji.

"Yes! Ganging up on your friends is more unyouthful!" Lee added.

"Troublesome. Now is not the time for your 'youth' rants." Shikamaru said from beside Ino.

"*Munch* One *Munch* thing I can say about this *Munch* game is that with high enough *Munch* cooking-skill then all the food tastes *Munch* amazing." Choji said as he stuffed his face.

"Choji, you're lucky you won't get any fatter from eating in this game or I'm sure you would have had a heart attack by now." Ino said snidely.

"Ino-chan let Choji be, you know this is how he deals with the stress of the situation." Shikamaru whispered into his girlfriends ear, and she nodded.

"So how you guys been the past three months?" Kiba asked.

"We've been well, as you can see Tenten, Lee and I have created the Rising Dragon guild and we are working on clearing floor 16." Neji, the guild leader said.

"Nice. Me, Hinata, and Shino made the Midnight Fangs, and were close to the boss on floor 16." Kiba the Fang's leader stated.

"Troublesome. ISC is wrapping up 16 also." Shikamaru the ISC leader said in a bored voice.

"YOSH! We should all team-up and clear Ravenwood together! Our youthful flames will burn brighter than any artificial sun!" Lee shouted with fire in his eyes.

"I say we go, what about you two?" Kiba said as he turned to his lead officers.

"I'm in."

"It is only logical to acquire more survival insurance."

"Fucking Shino..." Kiba grumbled.

"It would be much too troublesome to die now... we're in also." Shikamaru added.

"Alright, we'll leave in three days so you guys have time to get ready and pick the two others you want for your five man team." Neji said as he stood up along with his two officers.

"Sounds good." Kiba said with a grin.

"Yeah *Yawn* we'll be there." Shikamaru said as he lazily stood up. "It's getting late, I'm going to bed." He said before heading into his rented room, followed by Ino.

"Yeah imma turn in too. Night guys." Kiba waved and went into his room, and Shino left for his.

"Good night, Neji." Hinata said with a smile as she stood up and headed for her room.

"Night Hinata." Neji called out before turning to his best-friend. "We'll see you in the morning Lee."

"Indeed. May your youthful flames not burn incredibly brightly tonight as the inn may catch fire." Lee said with a smile and a thumbs up before leaving a red-faced Tenten and an annoyed Neji behind.

"Was Lee joking just then or was he serious?" Tenten asked as they walked towards their room.

"I can't even tell anymore. As a matter of fact I have this theory that all of this 'youth' crap is just an inside joke between him and Gai-sensei and they do it just to troll us. I bet he's in his room right now laughing his ass off... the bastard." Neji said as he glared at Lee's door for a moment before they stepped into their own room.

"Well at least now that we know that our friends are here and alive, then we can stick together and help each other out." Tenten said as she switched her clothes.

Neji nodded as he did the same. "Yes. In three days time we head to Ravenwood, and this time we'll finish it."

_**Next day (February, 9th)**_

"Well looks like we got everything planned out." Agil said as he looked over the detailed notes on the fastest and most effective way to get Agil's Blacksmithing up to level.

"Yep. Step one, you mine. Step two, ?. Step three, Profit."

"Pretty sure step two is just me crafting stuff for about 10 Hrs straight."

"Well yeah, but if I said that then it wouldn't fit the meme."

"What?"

"Nevermind."

"Anyway we need to use today to get me up to a high enough mining level to be able to gather those crystals in the dungeon." Agil added. "So I'll just run around mining outcrops and you kill stuff."

"Solid plan ol' chap." Naruto said with a mock salute.

"Are you always like this?"

"You get used to it." Naruto answered with a shrug before walking ahead.

"Are you bi-polar or something? Schizo perhaps?"

"Nope. Oturan just told me that this world is technically fake so it doesn't matter if I can tell the difference between real or not real... It's best to just go along with it and not anger Oturan. He has rage problems, It's probably from all the roids." Naruto said before whispering the last part.

"Roids?"

"Robust Operational Imbue Derived From Snickerfangs. It's a STR elixir from a quest in Blasted Plains."

"You're messing with me again aren't you?"

"It's a thing."

Agil just sighed and wondered if his own sanity would remain intact while traveling with this seemingly insane person.

Naruto however was trying his best to hold a straight face and not to laugh. Yeah he was crazy... crazy like a fox!

* * *

**_~Shadowfox_**


	4. SFK

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto, Sword Art Online, Bleach, or anything else referenced in this fanfiction.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Madara/Bosses / Sword Skills**

**_Location_  
**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Naruto Art: Online - Chapter IV**

_**Floor 16: Ravenwood (February 10th, 2023)**_

Naruto woke up with a yawn and walked out of his rented room to find Agil ready down stairs. He yawned again and waved lazily. "Yo."

"Good morning Shadowfox-san."

"Naruto."

"Naruto-san-"

"Just Naruto. None of that -san crap."

"Fair enough. Anyway are you ready to head for this floor's dungeon?"

"Yeah just let me get some breakfast and we'll head out."

One ramen breakfast later the two walked out of the inn and towards the town's exit, passing a two guys yelling on a corner but paid them no mind.

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

"LFM KKK!" A spiky orange haired guys shouted.

"Racist!" A voice shouted back.

"Did...did that guy just call me a racist?" The orange haired boy asked his partner.

"Yeah because you said you were looking for more for KKK." His red-haired friend answered.

"Well isn't that what It's called? Kage-Kiba Keep?" The orange haired guy protested.

"We just call it shadowfang." The red-head explained.

"Oh... I see."

"Yeah."

"LFM SFK!" The orange haired boy shouted.

"Shut up noob!" The same voice from before shouted back.

"Come over here and say that to my face, jerkwad!" The orange haired boy shouted out to whoever called him out.

His friend held him back and sighed. "Let's just go find Rukia, Ichigo. We can probably get Chad, Orihime or Uryu to cover the last spots."

Ichigo just grumbled and sulked a bit as they walked away. "I swear if I ever find that guy, I'll beat him within an inch of his life."

"Sure you will strawberry... sure you will." The red-haired guy said with a condescending smile.

"Dammit Renji, I told you to stop calling me strawberry!"

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

_**Floor 15: Rivershire**_

"Alright is everyone ready?" Neji asked as they gathered up in the middle of the town.

"Yep. We got food, potions, and had our gear repaired." Kiba answered for his group consisting of himself, Hinata, Shino, and two veteran members named Suri and Kro.

"It was a drag on our guild stash but so did we." Shikamaru said. His group was him, Ino, Choji, a boy named Tun and a woman named Noki.

"Very well. Teleport: Ravenwood." Neji used the command on the teleportation pad, along with the rest of his group which was Tenten, Lee, a man named Kenji and another guy called Siff.

The two other five man teams followed and within a moments they were in a dark and gloomy forest.

_**Floor 16: Ravenwood**_

"To think that a nice place like Rivershire leads into a freaking cliché haunted forest." Tenten thought aloud.

"YOSH! If we cannot defeat this boss today then I will slay a hundred zom-bears, and if I cannot do that then I shall hunt down fifty witches, and if I cannot d-"

"SHUT UP!" Almost the entirety of the group shouted.

"If you wanted me to be quiet you could have just asked nicely. So unyouthful..."

"Do we really need to bring him Neji? I might end up pulling a Leeroy and go suicide just to escape his 'youth' rants." Kiba groaned.

"Unfortunately yes. Lee is our fastest speed-type and he also got lucky and found some epic fist weapons. To be honest, bringing anyone else would be a major DPS decrease and I'd rather endure his speeches than end up dead due to not killing the boss fast enough." Neji stated his reason.

"This is one of those times that I wish this game had an ignore feature..." Kiba said under his breath as he trudged along.

They kept walking for a few minutes more as a large castle slowly came into view through the fog. Neji could have sworn he saw a familiar spiky haired blonde through a window in the castle but he blinked and the person was gone. _Guess I was just seeing things... _

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

"**CLEAVE!**" Naruto shouted swinging his sword in a full arc, severing three wolves from their lower-halves in mid-air just as they were about to attack.

"Damn." Was all Agil could say as he stood back and allowed Naruto to do his thing.

They came upon a closed-door and Naruto turned around to his companion. "Alright this next area is full of spectral enemies. You brought your proton pack right?"

"My what?"

"Nevermind." Naruto said before kicking down the door and rushing in, shouting demon leap as he flew through the air and landed sword first into the chest of a ghost, destroying it instantly. He ran throughout the room hacking and slashing and all around not giving enough of a damn to point out that his sword is somehow killing ghosts.

Naruto made it to the middle of the room, but was now surrounded by the quickly approaching phantoms. He let a smirk crawl on his face. "Come and get some you transparent bastards." He got into a ready stance and waited until they were all closer. **"DECAPITATING WHIRLWIND!" **He did a full 360-spin, going clear through all of their necks for massive damage.

That last attack left Naruto on one knee panting, waiting for his fatigue bar to recover. "Damn I need to increase my expertise in that attack... it still takes a ton of fatigue to use." Agil ran up to him and made sure he was ok.

"What was that just now?" He asked, never before seeing the attack.

"The... *pant* Kubikiri has sword skills unique to it *pant* like all legendary weapons, but they take more fatigue than normal, but slowly reduces the cost the more you use it. Like how a real swordsman would get better at their techniques through practice." Naruto recovered enough to stand up now. "That along with the demon's leap are skills unique to the Kubikiri, and I'm sure there's more that I haven't unlocked yet. The lore on the sword says that it was wielded by the 'Demon of the Mist' like how Samehada another of the seven was used by 'The monster of the Mist' and the Kiba blades by the 'Lightning of the Mist.' Anyway let's get a move on, a marker I set at the entrance just went off letting me know that a new group just entered. We need to hurry to the boss room, which is through the forgotten mines where your crystals are." Naruto said as he sheathed his blade and opened a trapdoor under a rug, with a straight ladder leading down a dark hole. "I hope you're not afraid of the dark... or zombies."

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

Neji's team was walking through the seemingly empty dungeon, only finding the occasional stray monster.

"Who the hell killed everything? I thought you said no one came here!" Kiba asked/demanded.

"It shouldn't be empty... the dungeon reset half and hour ago, and it only took us about ten minutes to get here. Apparently there's another group already in here and they cleared everything rather quickly. Let's hurry and see if we can catch up to them and perhaps get them to join our group." Neji suggested.

"Troublesome... we have to run now don't we?" Shikamaru asked, hoping they could just leave him behind and he could catch up later.

"That's right lazy." Kiba answered.

"YOSH! LET US RUN WITH ALL OF OUR YOUTH!" Lee shouted before using his bloodline to increase his speed dramatically, taking off in a dead-run.

"WAIT LEE! Ah dammit..." Neji shouted just in time to see the dust trail.

"He doesn't know the way to the boss room does he?" Hinata asked.

"No..." Neji admitted.

"Why did we bring him again?" Kiba wondered.

"We still need to find the boss's room anyway so we have time to look for him and the group before us." Tenten added, and they all nodded before taking off.

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0- 0**

"Hey Agil wanna see something cool?" The voice of Naruto asked through the pitch-darkness.

"Sure?" Agil answered, not completely sure if he wanted to or not.

"Ok I discovered this a while back. You take normal sword oil and apply a generous coat." The sound of liquid splashing on a surface then dripping down to the stone floor was heard. "Then you take out a torch." Naruto said as he pulled out a torch and used an item charge to light it. "Add them together and-" Naruto touched the torch to his two-hander and it instantly erupted into flames. "Blamo! You got a fire-enhanced sword without having to pay a dime for it!" He said with a huge grin, that looked more maniacal than jovial.

"Seems... useful."

"Yeah but there's a huge downside."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, the fire also burns away at your weapon's durability. Luckily though that is a non-factor for my Kubikiri."

"...And why's that?"

"Simple. Everything I spill blood, it increases the durability of my sword up to It's max pristine state. It eats blood, essentially."

"So your sword is a vampire?"

"Pretty much. I heard that Samehada has a similar effect but instead of repairing itself it siphons fatigue to the wielder, so they can keep using sword skills without tiring easily. Lucky bastard..." Naruto grumbled as he handed Agil the torch while he used his sword to light his path. "Alright Agil, stay cautious. If a hand suddenly reaches out of the ground and grabs you, don't scream like a girl. Calmly pull out your mace, and smash that rotting bastard in the face. Zombie movie rules work here. Destroy the brain, and they die. Remove the legs and they crawl. Oh and whatever you do... don't let them bite you. Trust me Ambuzol Vaspilatin is hard to make and I only have two vials on me." Naruto advised.

"Ambu-what now?"

"Ambuzol Vaspilatin."

"What's that?"

"Potion that prevents zombification."

"Wait, you can actually become a zombie?"

"It's actually more a permanent disease debuff that eats away at your stats unless you get to a healer within 24 hours. And these potions give you an extra 12hrs each."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I suppose that explains why there hasn't been any zombie outbreaks."

"Yep. Usually a player will die within a week of complete zombification, and due to towns being safe-zones it won't spread to the masses from someone biting someone else."

"Makes sense I guess."

"Don't think too much into it, logic is only used half of the time in this game."

"Like you?"

"Hm?"

"Half the time your serious and professional, the rest of the time... not so much."

"What are you trying to say? If you got a problem bro, say it to my face. If not then let's just chill out and go kill some zombies."

"Are you sure you aren't Bi-polar?"

"No but I'm Bi-winning. Does that count?"

"No."

"Well I still am."

"What does that even mean?"

"That I win."

"At what?"

"Everything. Winning here, winning there, winning everywhere."

"Let me guess, you also have tiger blood?"

"No... but it'd be pretty awesome if I did. I'd be like half tiger half badass. Tigerass? Tibass? Badti- no...Badger? YEAH! I'd be a freaking badger! Honey badger don't give a shit."

"I think I lose on average at least fifty brain cells every time I have a conversation with you."

"Sounds like a personal problem."

Agil sighed and continued to follow the mental blonde down the dark caverns. _He's probably just leading me down here so he can kill me and make sword oil out of my blood._

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

Neji's group followed the noises of battle and came upon Lee fighting a group of wolves with his bare hands, and he was winning.

"YOSH! You wolves are most youthful, but unfortunately I must pass you to reach the boss!" Lee reached his right hand back and charged a sword skill into his spiked gauntlets. "**FALCON PUNCH!" **What looked like a falcon made out fire shot out of Lee's fist and hit the wolves dead-on, destroying them.

"Lee you shouldn't run off like that, we need to stick together." Tenten admonished.

"Ah. I apologize for running off Tenten-san, but my flames of youth needed to be fanned through life-risking battle!" Lee stated.

"Still- we have other things to do now. Like finding the boss before that team before us." Neji added.

"Well, I would just follow the empty hallways if I were following them and not look for places that still had monsters." Lee reasoned.

"He... makes a logical point?" Shino asked. Only the slightest hint of disbelief was heard in his voice, like not he could fully register his own words.

"So we just follow the blood trail, eh? Akamaru can you track down the nearest scent of blood?" Kiba asked his large wolf/dog hybrid who wolfed in response and took off in another direction. "Heh being a beast master rocks."

"Let's go then." Neji said.

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0- 0 **

"RAH!" Naruto roared as he decapitated a zombie before ducking under another's swing and bringing his sword around, lopping off the top of It's skull leaving It's jaw and tongue still attached to It's body before it exploded into data shards.

"How's the loot looking so far?" Naruto asked his companion, who he had on pick-up duty the entire time.

"We've collected 17 'Wolf Fangs' 5 'Ectoplasm' stored in vials and 12 pieces of 'Semi-rotten Flesh'." Agil answered.

"Semi-rotten?"

"Don't know, don't want to know."

"Fair enough."

"Oh hold on a sec, I see another crystal node over there." Agil pointed to a slightly glowing blue crystal cluster.

Naruto nodded and kept an eye out as Agil mined the minerals. "Hey so how far are your trade skills now?"

"Mining is now up to 166 and my Blacksmithing is 149." Agil answered.

"So we're half-way there. Not bad, but not good either. We need to be the first people to make the sword or else someone else will make it and we can't duplicate a unique item." Naruto told him.

Agil nodded, and stored the crystals into his inventory. "Hopefully with these crystals I'll be able to make higher quality items and increases the levels quicker."

"Hopefully." Naruto said as they neared a light at the end of the cavern. "There's our exit." Naruto said as he pointed at the light at the top of a set of stairs.

The two climbed up the stairs only to enter a cemetary. Agil looked back and noticed that they just walked out of a mausoleum. _I suppose that explains the zombies and the tombs..._

Naruto took him around a corner to a large chapel with two large double doors. "Welcome to the Church of Lucian." Naruto said with a large grin before opening the door. "Honey, I'm home."

Agil felt disgusted as he looked around the desecrated church, all around were half-eaten pieces of flesh, piles of bones, and pools of blood. At the altar was single humanoid figure facing away from them, feasting on a corpse. The name 'Shadowfang' was above his body.

As soon as the two walked in, the large doors slammed open. A growl emanated from the figure, as it slowly and menacingly turned around to glare at the newcomers. The full moon could be seen through the hole in the stain glass window, shining a small patch of light on the group. Another growl was heard from Shadowfang as it stalked towards the light.

"Alright pro-tip time. Find a pew, hide behind it, and try not to draw attention to yourself. You're about five levels too low for this and he would tear your shit up." Just as Naruto finished saying that, Shadowfang walked into the light and began transforming into his werewolf form, letting loose a howl when it was complete. "Now would be a good time to hide." Agil didn't bother arguing and simply hid behind one of the still intact benches.

Shadowfang bent down so he was on all fours and growled threateningly. "Growl all you want fleebag, I'm still killing your ass and taking your loot." Naruto said as he brandished his sword and got into a ready stance.

Agil took a moment to inspect the boss and take mental notes of how this fight works, for future reference. _Ok he has three bars of health, roughly 14,000 HP for a level twenty boss. A werewolf is a speed-type attacker so either a strong defense or another speed-type will be needed to properly counter attack- _His thoughts were interrupted by the shout of 'Cleave' and seeing the boss take at least a third of a health-bar of damage. _...or overwhelming strength apparently._Agil continued to watch the fight, noticing when Naruto would dodge, when he would block, and when he would attack. There was a clear pattern but he still made it look easy.

Naruto leaped into the air and held his sword horizontally in preparation for his finishing move. **"EXECUTE!" **He shouted, only to have the werewolf duck in time and counter-attack with a claw to his chest, dealing a decent amount of damage and knocking him back towards Agil.

Naruto took a look at his bleeding wound and frowned. "Hey Agil got a spare potion on you? Or some bandages?" He asked as they hid from the boss.

"Yeah, let me patch you up." He responded before taking out some decent level bandages and used them to stop the bleeding DOT and restore a bit of Naruto's HP.

"Thanks." Naruto murmured before leaping into the air. **"Demon's Leap!" **The surprise attack connected and he plunged his sword through the Shadowfang's chest, coming out the other side.

"Now It's time to put you down! **EXECUTE!**" This time it had the desire effect, and severed the werewolves' head clean off.

A small sign of congratulations floated in the air as the loot scattered on the floor. "Pick up everything you can, when your full teleport back to the town." Naruto ordered.

Agil nodded and picked up as much as he could before using a tele-crystal to return to the village waypoint. Naruto picked up whatever was left and activated his own teleportation crystal. Just as he left thought he felt a pair of eyes watch him just as he de-materialized.

_That... that couldn't have been him. I only saw the side of his face before he teleported but... it looked so much like him. Naruto-kun are you trapped here with us as well, my love?_

* * *

**AN - **Hoped you liked it. So far Naruto only has 2 unique skills: Demon's Leap to cross long distances quickly (Charge + Heroic leap) and Decapitating Whirlwind (Execute + Whirlwind) He will learn more along the way but I thought this is good for now. At least until he gets another of the seven swords.

_**~Shadowfox**_


	5. Soulstone

**AN - **Woot! Season 2 is starting and we're going to Alfheim! I still have a lot of catching up to do since I'm barely between episodes 2 and 3 in the timeline (Chapter 6 being anime episode 3) Anyway here's chapter 5, enjoy!

**Disclaimer - **I do not own Naruto or Sword Art: Online.

* * *

"Normal speech"

'Quotes or emphasis'

**Madara/Bosses / Sword Skills**

**_Location_  
**

_Thoughts_

* * *

**Naruto Art: Online - V**

_**Floor 16: Ravenwood, Kage-Kiba Keep (February 10th, 2023)**_

"D-Did anyone else just see him?" Hinata asked with a slight stutter.

"See who?" Kiba asked.

"They player who just teleported away... did anyone catch his name?" Hinata clarified.

"I saw what looked like someone teleporting away but I couldn't make out who it was." Ino said.

"He... he was blonde, on the right side of his face that I saw were what looked like three whisker tattoos, and... he looked just like-"

"Naruto?" Neji interrupted.

"Y-You saw him Neji-niisan?" Hinata asked with a twinge of hope in her voice.

"I saw him before, through a window in the tower. I had thought it resembled him, but I wasn't sure. When I took a second look he was gone, and I didn't want to mention anything or foolishly get your hopes up Hinata." He answered.

"B-But if Naruto-kun is here then we need to find him! He was always the best out of all of us when it came to video-games and this way we can keep each other safe." Hinata stated.

"Yeah... that's the reason you want to go search for him..." Kiba grumbled, slightly jealous.

Hinata's left eye twitched a little as she turned to her guild leader. "What was that Kiba?"

Kiba got a shiver up his spine at her glare and tone. "N-Nothing! All I meant is that it might not even be Naruto, it could just be some guy that looks like him. Plus we don't know where he teleported to since you can bind your tele-crystal anywhere. We would just end up on a wild goose chase, I'm sure if we searched for him." He stated.

"B-But-"

"Hinata, if we see that player again we can meet him, but I don't want you to get your hopes up for nothing. You yourself said that you only saw the right side of his face, and the tower was too far to see clearly and I only vaguely saw someone who looked somewhat like Naruto... cousin I don't want you to get your hopes up only if we find this player and it ends up not being him." Neji told his younger cousin.

"I-I..." She just closed her eyes and nodded, a slight tear forming in one eyes. _If that was you Naruto-kun, please be careful..._

_**Floor 17: Haunted Marshlands (February 13th, 2023)**_

"I swear you're insane."

"Amf not." Naruto said around the piece of meat he was chewing on.

"Normal people don't bum rush into a potentially life-threatening situation nonchalantly chewing on a piece of steak while swinging around an oversized meat cleaver."

"You sure?" Naruto's muffled voice asked through the steak still hanging in his mouth.

"Yes... and don't talk while you eat."

Naruto finished his food and spoke after he was done chewing. "Sorry. Anyway, let's get going."

"Alright."

"You looted the bodies already right?"

"Yeah."

"Anything good?"

"Just some coins, a green dagger, and a turkey leg-"

"OH! OH! GIMMIE GIMMIE!"

Agil raised an eyebrow but shrugged and gave him the piece of food since he could use it to regain some of his lost HP.

"So whafs nex?" Naruto asked with the leg of meat in his mouth.

"That's disgusting."

Naruto pulled the piece of leg out and spoke. "Well sorry for not being able to eat properly and wield a two-handed weapon at the same time. It's either this or we lose time by taking a break."

"And what's the problem with taking a break?"

"We lose time! I already explained this to you! The sword we need to make is unique but the design blueprints arent! So if there can only be one of these weapons in the game world at any given time but there are potentially multiple people out there with the blueprints to make one, then we're racing to get it made first! Now come on and stop complaining. You're getting levels by standing around as I kill stuff and being sped through mining and blacksmithing, It's a win-win for you and all I ask is that we get that sword made for me." Naruto explained.

"This really means a lot to you huh?"

"It's a legendary sword, why the hell wouldn't it? Having it would increase my chance of survival in the higher dungeon levels and- ... well that's all that's really important in a life and death game so let's get to it, so I can get us out of this damn thing faster by beating the game."

"Well that's enough incentive for me. Let's go." Agil said with a nod and they took off running to the next area.

"Ok we're close to the entrance of floor 18." Naruto explained as he chopped a zombie in half.

"What's the next area called?"

"Floor 18 is the Nightsoul plains. It's starts to transition away from the undead theme and back into normal enemies."

"Good. If I even see anything ghost, zombie, skeleton, or werewolf It'll be too damn soon."

"You forgot witches."

"Oh especially the witches. Did you really have to go and scare that one with your torch? Damn thing almost killed me when it pinned me down and started slashing away with those claws of hers."

"Makes me wonder why they're called witches... but hey at least I got the 'Burn the Witch' achievement by hitting her in the face with my torch."

"Yes well I'm glad that I almost lost my life so that you can have 10 more useless points."

"Totally worth it."

"Why do I follow you again?"

"Honestly I'm not really sure."

Agil sighed and figured that if he left now he wouldn't be strong enough to make it out of the marshlands by himself. He would just have to hold-out and brave it with the lunatic.

"Looks like we're here." Naruto said before they stepped out of the woods and into a clearing, with a town visible in the distance.

"Sweet merciful Kami, finally!" Agil shouted at the first sign of civilization. They had traveled through floors 16 and 17 for the past three days, taking shifts sleeping so monsters wouldn't sneak up on them. How Naruto managed to do this on his own the first time around he didn't know.

"Let's hurry, I have a contact I need to meet up with tomorrow in this town so I'd like to have everything ready tonight."

"You keep talking about these contacts but never explained who they were."

"Informants. Information brokers. Spies."

"Spies?"

"I need to keep tabs on the top guilds, what they're up to, and if any of them have one of the seven swords. So far we've confirmed the Samehada and Kiba blades like I've told you before. That just leaves four that need to be either made, discovered, or somehow has one and is hiding it."

"I see. How exactly did you go about making your own spy network though? Seems a bit excessive."

"People are desperate."

"Huh?"

"As a solo-player, I'm sure that you can understand that any loot, money, or other valuables are mine. Since I didn't need to share with anyone I sold almost everything or traded it. My informants are desperate players who want any advantage to make sure their own survival, or just need money. As I'm sure you've noticed some people have either given up on beating the game, or are too scared to try, so they decided to make a new life here in the game. These people need money, to buy houses, for businesses, or other such things. Let's just say that my bank account isn't empty and I lend out some of my gold in exchange for them keeping their eyes and ears open. Others... seek items. Since I'm normally on the front lines, I have access to the highest tiers of items available, and people pay dearly for these advantages. Lower gear that is still useful I give to my spies in exchange for them working for me. They get security, I get information." Naruto explained.

Agil just raised an eyebrow once he was done. "So you just exploit people's fear?"

"Exploit...? Maybe, but I like to see it as helping them feel more secure in their new life in SAO by providing them either comfort or weapons. I'm an arms dealer essentially." Naruto reasoned.

"So are you insane or a genius?"

"Can't I be both?"

"Huh?"

"I did this in beta also. Trading money or items for info, back then though people only needed money for stupid posh items and frilly decorations, or items to brag to their friends about. Now though... people need them to feel safe. They want money so they can start a new life. They want items so they can keep their lives. Sure I play on their fears that they may never leave this game but It's all in the interests of beating the game. Means to an end and all that." Naruto said as they continued walking towards the town in the distance.

"I see. So you aren't as crazy as you seem then."

"No, just boredom."

"What?"

"Boredom. Back in the real world if I was fighting for my life before this game I would be scared shitless, but here... where I've done just that for the past four months alone... I kind of just stopped caring. When you get to the point where you no longer worry if you will see the next day because you've fought to keep your life every day before that, it just becomes routine. What people consider a life and death battle, I just call a Tuesday. If someone else was on the ground, dying from a bleed debuff, moments from perma-death, I just call a Wednesday. What people call suicide by soloing a boss, I call Friday. I've become so desensitized to the notion of dying that I've actually grown bored. This game is no longer a struggle to survive for me... It's just another day, working towards freedom. So in my boredom I've grown a little crazy yes, but really I was just plain old bored." Naruto sighed. "Have you ever played MMOs where it was just one huge grind-fest to max level, then you just go on to fight the last boss? That's what this game has become for me... I'm no longer afraid to die, just bored as I grind through endless mobs, making my way to the top. It's like I'm just sitting at my chair playing anything or game on my desktop, no consequences, just progression." He finished with a sigh.

"..." Agil couldn't find a way to really respond to that so he remained silent.

"Kinda sad huh?" Naruto asked as he turned to his companion.

"Yeah... a little."

"Well that's life. One day your siting on your computer watching online videos about cats, and the next your held prisoner in a death-game. Makes me wonder how we're still alive though. They probably have us hooked up to machines and stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"You never really thought about have you?"

"About what?"

"Didn't you notice how about two weeks in, some players started passing out or dying randomly? Their real-world bodies probably gave out. You and me are either in the hospital or our homes hooked up to some sort of life support system, feeding us. The only problem though is for how much longer? I don't know if you know this Agil but we're on a schedule here. The nervegears run on an internal battery, how long it lasts I'm not sure, but we have until then to beat the game. If the nervegear helmet gives out then we're probably going to die with it." Naruto explained, making Agil's eyes widen.

"So we really don't have any time to waste do we?"

"Not even a moment. I don't know about you, or everyone else, but I'm going to escape. I don't care how, or through what means except PKing because that will just screw me over in the end, but I will escape with my life and seeing as beating the last boss is the only way how then I'll do just that and save everyone else as well. That's a promise."

Agil nodded as he saw the conviction in Naruto's eyes. "Then I'll do by best to help you. That's my promise."

Naruto smiled slightly and nodded. "What are we waiting for then?" He said before taking off in a dead-sprint towards the town, quickly followed by Agil.

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

_**Floor 18: Nightsoul Plains, Werkz Town (February 14th, 2023) 8:37 AM**_

Naruto had woken up in the inn room he rented last night and gotten ready before meeting Agil downstairs ten minutes later. "Alright, my meeting isn't until 9PM so let's head back to floor 15 so I can get that guy these troll ears that he wanted." Naruto said after they finished their breakfast.

"Sounds good." Agil said with a nod and they exited the inn, and began walking towards the waypoint.

The two used the voice command to teleport to the 15th floor, which resembled a lake-side town.

_**Floor 15: Lake Everstill, Everstill Keep - 8:42 AM**_

"Been a while since I've been here." Agil mentioned.

"Yeah?" Naruto asked before he led them into the town, "It's pretty peaceful in this town if you ignore the rampaging orcs to the north."

Agil chuckled. "Gotta look on the bright side right?"

"Of course."

"So anyway, what was it this guy needed troll ears for anyway?"

"I'm not sure. One of my contacts brought me a request from an alchemist that lives here for them, and if their potions worked they would give me a few along with my payment. Win-win situation so I didn't see a reason not to."

"Guess I should be thankful you took up the job or I'd be pieces of data and a fried brain right about now."

"Yep. Bright side my friend, bright side." The two continued to walk in silence as Naruto occasionally glanced at a piece of paper. "This should be it." He said as they looked up towards a cottage on a small hill off to the side of the main town.

"Lead the way."

Naruto nodded and they walked up to the door and he gave it a quick knock. After a moment the door was opened by a black-haired woman. "Yes? Can I help you?"

"Yeah, I was given a request to hunt down some trolls for their ears and bring them to this place for an alchemist." Naruto stated.

"Ah you must Shadowfox!" She opened the door and stepped aside. "Please, please, do come in!"

The two men nodded and walked in before taking a seat on the nearby couch. "So are you the client?" Naruto asked.

"Yes, yes! My username is Jainrose, but you can call me Alma." The woman introduced herself.

"I'm Naruto and that's Agil." Naruto replied.

"Oh uh, It's actually Andrew." Agil mentioned.

"Well I'm terrible with names and I'll probably forget it so I'll stick with Agil since it's constantly over your head." Naruto stated.

Agil sweatdropped but just shrugged it off before turning back towards the woman.

"So do you have them?" Alma asked giddily.

"Oh right. Hold on a sec," Naruto said as he went into his menu and scrolled through the items, "Ah there we are." He selected the 20 troll ears and asked Alma to trade, and she put up the ten-thousand ryo that was mentioned.

"EXCELLENT!" Alma cheered before running over to a table full of beakers and different colored liquids. She motioned for the two men to join her and they agreed. "Alchemy is unlike other professions. A lot of it is guess-work, and whatever combinations of items that work together as usually written and sold as recipes by other players or given away freely. There is somewhat of a pattern to what ingredients give what results, and I believe that I've stumbled upon a combination that will forever change the game!"

"Oh?" Naruto asked, now intrigued.

"Yes! It was incredibly difficult to acquire the other items required but if I'm correct then this discovery could very well save hundreds if not thousands of lives! (And make me filthy stinking rich in the process... kukuku)" Alma said excitedly before whispering the last part under her breath.

"So what is it that makes this so important?" Agil asked.

Alma gave no reply as she was busy working adding in hundreds of ingredients in a set order before combining their products into higher items. "Ok now I need to add the ears to this set of ingredients and... *POOF* YESSSSSS! IT WORKED!" Alma shouted as she held the newly created potion in her hand.

"So what did you make?" Agil asked.

"I call it the life potion!" Alma proclaimed.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "So you just made a health potion? Is that all?"

"No! Not a health potion... a life potion!" Alma corrected.

"I'm not following." Naruto said in confusion.

"Of course you wouldn't, you're not an alchemist. Let me explain the significance of this discovery." Alma went to a nearby bookcase and pulled out a small leather-bound book. "This book holds the findings and notes of an alchemist that was in the beta." Alma said as she handed Naruto the book.

"You see, alchemists don't just make potions, we also obviously do alchemy. You know transmutations, turning stuff into gold and all that." Alma said before heading back to her work table. "Anyway he discovered something called the 'Soulstone' essentially it would be used to store the soul of a dead player if used within the ten-second 'End Phase'. The game would recognize the item being used and instead of killing the player it would take them to a sort-of 'Limbo' section of the game where they would be held until revived. How the player is revived after being trapped in the soulstone I'm not sure but hey, It's at least a chance to save a friend right?" Alma explained.

Naruto's eyes went wide while Agil was dumbfounded. There was a way to save someone who had died, and this woman had the key.

"So now that I've found the life potion which was the missing key that the beta'er author 'Seritor' was missing to make the soulstone, I can now finish his work!" Alma said with a giant grin as she started combining all the left over ingredients and potions that she previously made before it was down to a purple sphere, a vial of black stuff, and the life potion. "Ok... moment of truth." Alma said nervously as she stuck the tip of her tongue out of the corner of her mouth in concentration. She was carefully mixing the black vial and the life potion in equal proportions into a large beaker. A ding was heard and the two items fused into the beaker to make a new item called 'Soul Potion' "YAAAAAAAAYYYYY I DID IT!" Alma shouted as she jumped up and down for a few minutes, while Naruto and Agil sweatdropped at her antics.

"Don't you still need to finish it?" Naruto asked, making her freeze.

"You're right..." She slowly turned towards the last two items on her desk, while she added the last few notes into the leather book detailing her notes. "OK! ...now I just need to... dip the nether crystal into the soul potion and it should make the soul stone." Alma picked up the slightly glowing sphere and lowered it into the beaker full of blackish liquid that had smoke drifting out of it. She hovered the crystal over the potion before letting it sink into it. After a minute of tense waiting a slight ding was heard and the two items fused into one, leaving a sole glowing purple stone on the table. Alma's face lit up before she let out an ear-piercing squeal and triumphant shouts of 'I'm the best' and 'I'm a genius' and also a 'I'm going to be rich.'

"So... I was promised some potions if this little procedure worked but... I don't see any left." Naruto mentioned, snapping the woman out of her cheering.

"Ah... right... eheh... uh. A-Anyway, thanks for your help with the ears and all and um... It's about time that I got to sleep so... perhaps you should leave..." Alma said nervously.

"Oh... really now?" Naruto said with a calm tone as he reached for the large sword on his back. "Because I could have sworn that I was promised potions... life potions if I remember your wording correctly." He said before drawing the large blade.

"Ah-ah ... w-well you see, th-there aren't any l-left so unfortunately I c-can't make that happen!" Alma stuttered out as she slowly backed herself into a corner as Naruto drew near her.

"Well that's a shame now isn't it? Perhaps there's something else of value in your possession that may... prove to be of equal or greater value to offer as compensation? I would sure hate to call you a liar and have to take my compensation into my own hands." Naruto said as he drew the sword closer to her while Agil turned around looked out the window.

"W-Wait, wh-what do you plan on doing?" Alma asked as she drew closer to the corner and sat down, cowering.

"Well that depends on you now doesn't it? You said something about being rich right? I'll buy the stone from you but at a reduced price. Plus I'm sure that the ingredients must cost a bit to acquire so I'll offer you 500,00 ryo for the stone and I'll thrown in your continued life in as a bonus." Naruto then gave her a fox-like grin as he leaned in closer to her, almost face-to-face. "Do we have a deal?" He asked as he sent a trade request. In her panic she quickly traded away the precious item for a mere half-a million ryo. Naruto and Agil both quickly left the town and returned to floor 18 to wait until 9PM for Naruto's contact to meet him at the inn.

**0 - 0 - 0 - 0 - 0**

_**Floor 18: Nightsoul Plains, Werkz Town - 8:59 PM**_

Agil had decided to stay at the inn and turn in early, while Naruto went outside and sat at a lone bench in the middle of the road.

"The Kitsune follow their Kage." A feminine voice spoke suddenly from behind him.

"The Shadow leads his Foxes." Naruto replied without looking back.

"I bring news Shadowfox-sama." The same voice spoke.

"Very well. Sit down Argo-chan." Naruto motioned towards the spot next to him and out of the darkness came a greenish haired, purple-eyed girl in a tan hooded cloak with three red whisker-marks on her cheeks.

"Another of the seven has been discovered Shadowfox-sama." Argo said.

"Oh? Which one?" Naruto asked with curiosity.

"A young-man by the name of Chojuro who was primarily a fisher discovered that if he joined two unique flounders and a few different weapons that he could create the Hiramekarei Twinsword. It's special ability is that it can shift into other types of weapons to suit your needs." Argo explained.

"That does sound useful but... flounders? Really? Are you sure?"

"Positive. He used the Hirame King Flounder and the Karei Queen Flounder's along with some specials weapons to make the sword. It also looks like a flounder and has two handles for some reason." Argo added.

"I see... and what level is this...?"

"Chojuro."

"Chojuro."

"He is level 22."

"Hmm. I could kill him and simply take the sword... but I also don't want the debuff. Perhaps I can hire someone to kill him for me." Naruto mused to himself.

"You could steal it my lord." Argo suggested.

"Steal it?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Yes, if a player drops and item, weapon, or piece of equipment it can be picked up by others after a set amount of time, but it is only borrowed and if the players wants it back the item returns to them. But if you steal it by having said item on the ground and using a special option when inspecting it, you can steal the item. So really you just need someone to either A) keep him busy while you steal the sword or B) knock him out or wait until he's asleep to do it. I prefer to wait until someone is asleep before lifting stuff from someone." Argo explained.

"I see." Naruto said with a nod. "Do you think you could steal it from him?"

"It would be quite risky Shadowfox-sama. He is ten levels higher than me and if he wakes up while I'm attempting it then he could kill me, seeing as you can only steal things in pvp-zones and unlawed towns like Ravenwood." Argo informed him.

Naruto nodded. "Anything else Argo-chan?"

"No that is all for now Shadowfox-sama." Argo said as she stood up and bowed.

"Alright, good job bringing me this information. Would you like gear or money?" Naruto asked.

"I would like some ryo Shadowfox-sama, I'm starting to run low." Argo answered.

Naruto opened up the trade menu and gave her 10,000 ryo. "Keep up the good work and stay out of trouble Argo-chan."

"Thank you. I'll contact you if anything important catches my ears." Argo said with another bow before she ran off into the shadows.

_So another of the seven is revealed... that only leaves two unknown and the 'Splash' sword has yet to be created to my knowledge._ _Best get to work on that... and fast._

* * *

**AN - **hope you enjoyed it and please leave me a review if you did!

**PS - **Due to feedback, the bleach chars. will only stay as a cameo and will not make it into the full story. If I add in any others It's only for maybe one chapter but won't be permanent. Also I'm still open to ideas for other skills/swords/gear for the other characters to use. If you have a suggestions leave a review or send me a PM! Thanks!

_**~Shadowfox**_


End file.
